


Simulacrum

by FireEye



Category: Zero | Project Zero | Fatal Frame (Video Games), Zero: Shisei no Koe | Fatal Frame III: The Tormented
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-22
Updated: 2018-12-22
Packaged: 2019-09-25 00:02:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17110631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FireEye/pseuds/FireEye
Summary: Rei meets a mysterious stranger with a pleasant smile.





	Simulacrum

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Estirose](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Estirose/gifts).



She was said to capture the soul.

Of all the work she had ever done – landscapes, fashion, and a phase of derelict and broken down old provincial buildings that were only famed in occult circles – portraiture and day-in-the-life street studies were what earned her a ticket into art museum galleries.

Her subjects were from all walks of life – young, old, rich, poor, rural, urban.  The photographs she took of them were eerily simulacrum.  The businessman at his desk, staring back attentively at the viewer, amid the bustle of an office.  The housewife’s coy expression, crowned in sunlight and a breath of dust.  The children at play still in motion.

It invigorated, it unnerved, and, above all, it captured hearts and minds.

More often than not, it was the photography that garnered attention.  Even when she attended functions dedicated to her own work, Rei was solemn and quiet and more than content to be regulated to the background.

She had never fully lost her outspoken edge, she simply had little use for it these days outside of contracts and negotiations behind closed doors.  In the public eye, she was effortlessly polite, if private.  To those who met her in person, she was as haunting as the photos she had taken.

There were few who could have been said to truly know her.  Most who did considered her a little eccentric.

***

His name was Hisakawa Shirou.

They met at an exhibit unveiling: her work, and the work of three others.

“Your work is beautiful,” he told her.

“Thank you.”

“So are you.”

“...ah,” Rei floundered.  Warmth colored her cheeks.  “...thank you.”

“Tell me, would you care to join me for dinner later?”

He was certainly very... _direct_.

Rei was reluctant to answer.  Not because she _wouldn’t care to_ , but because his smile was bright, and his eyes sparkled.  It had been a long time since anyone had evoked that kind of warmth in her chest.

***

One step past the threshold of the door, Shirou paused, closed his eyes, and breathed in deep.  Rei regarded him, at a loss, but he opened his eyes again, and smiled brightly enough that she could only smile back.

“This house has... a strong presence,” he said.

“...the house?” Rei asked.

She led him into the living room.  Ruri took one look at him, and retreated to the upstairs landing.  There, tail curled around her paws, she observed the interloper with narrow eyes.

“You’ll... have to forgive her...” Rei apologized.  “She’s shy.”

“It’s no matter,” Shirou assured her.  “I suppose I can take some growing accustomed to.”

His gentle smile chased from her mind all her misgivings.

***

Kei dropped by one afternoon, out of the blue, between this project and that.  They once kept in regular contact, but... time had slipped by them between this obligation and that.  It had been a while.

She’d missed him.

She didn’t realize how much she’d missed him.

He hung about in the darkroom as she developed her latest roll of film.  They caught up on everything worth catching up on.  And avoided talking of things such as ghosts and haunted places and dreams thereof.

“Is this a new series?” Kei asked her.

“Hmm?”

“These are all the same guy.”

“Oh.”

Rei hadn’t realized.  But... Kei was right.  In every photo, no matter the subject, Shirou could be found.  In the background often, occasionally in the foreground.  He wasn’t always the focus of what she had been photographing, but...

Kei shot her a knowing grin.  Rei scoffed and swatted him.

***

Rei drew Miku into her arms.  It was such a familiar, comforting embrace, and it had been so long, Rei never wanted it to end.

“I didn’t know you were coming.”

“Kei said you had a new exhibit...” Miku explained.  She cocked her head as she looked up at Rei.  “You look tired.  Have you been sleeping okay?”

“Better than I have in years.”

Rei scanned the crowd for Shirou.  She found him examining the newest photos in the gallery, along with one of her patrons.  They were engaged in a conversation, but, almost as if sensing her gaze, he turned his head towards them.  When she looked back to Miku, Rei found her staring.

“Do you know him?”

“No...” Miku admitted.  “I just... caught a chill, is all.”

“Come on,” Rei smiled.  “Let me introduce you.”

“No!”  Miku paled, and shook her head.  “I mean, that’s alright, I think... I should go.  Maybe another time.”

She gave a shallow bow, excusing herself and disappearing into the crowd before Shirou managed to reach them.

***

Miku had taken up folklore.  Her work traveled her across the country, from the most remote villages and to the duskiest old museum storehouses and record archives.

Sometimes she still saw things.  Not like she used to, but out of the corner of her eye.  In feelings.  In dreams.

In premonitions that didn’t always mean anything at all.

Sometimes... it felt like something, or _someone_ , in the otherworld was giving her a push.  Like the book of fables that had practically fallen into her lap.  She liked to think it was Mafuyu.  Or her mother.  Or even Kirie.

It was strange to think it Kirie.  But of all the strange things Miku had ever seen, Kirie was the only spirit she had ever met that was _self-aware_.

The thought wouldn’t leave her alone.  She read the story three times, and the plates that accompanied it raised the hair on the back of her neck.

She’d known something was wrong.

***

Rei sat down on the bench.  It was after hours, but she didn’t feel like going home just yet.  They had been discussing business in the director’s office, but the guards knew her and she was free to wander as she saw fit.

She felt so _tired_.

It was dreamlike.  The echo of footfalls.  The way Miku and Kei appeared within the museum halls to find her.  The way Shirou stepped between them.

“Ah,” he purred.  “I’ve heard so much about you.”

Miku ignored him, moving to fix her gaze on Rei.

“He’s dead, Rei,” she said softly, “He’s been dead for centuries.”

“What does that matter?” Shirou asked.  His smile never wavered, and Rei found herself lost in it.

“It matters, because he’s killing you,” Kei snapped.

“Come now, no need to be rude.  Especially you’re too late.  She’s chosen her fate.  She’s chosen me.”

“No...”

Shirou’s eyebrows raised.  “Oh?”

Rei shook her head.  The fog cleared, if only a little.  “No.”

“I found you, lost and alone,” Shirou reminded her.  “Is there anything on this side worth living for?”

Rei’s gaze was drawn to Miku.  And Kei at her shoulder.  She raised her chin, looking up at Shirou.

“Yes.”

Shirou shook his head, _tsk_ ing.  Kei lunged at him, and the ghost shoved him back without a touch.  He landed heavily on the floor.  Miku, meanwhile, ran for Rei, dragging her back by her hand.  Smiling pleasantly, Shirou stepped past the man on the floor, following after them.

Rei glanced at the bench.

Her camera was in her bag.

Maybe she should have run.  Took her chances that he couldn’t find her; couldn’t find her friends.  Her camera wasn’t the Camera Obscura.  It wasn’t mystical.

But Shirou had led her to having one foot in the grave.

And Rei’s photography was said to capture the soul.

He dissolved into light, and the camera in her hands grew dangerously hot.  Rei dropped it with a gasp.  And, after everything sunk in, kicked it across the floor with an angry little squeak.

She felt Miku’s arms around her, soft and warm.  Kei’s joined them, holding them both tightly.

***

They weren’t going to leave her alone.  And they weren’t unwelcome, Rei was just... _numb_.

Kei merely collapsed on the couch.  He could have had a bed had he wanted one; as it was, Rei still brought him a blanket, before heading upstairs with Miku.

“Your old room... Without your things, it’s only a guest room, now I suppose.  But you’re still welcome to it.”

“Thanks.”  Miku smiled.  It wasn’t new.  Rei welcomed Miku into her home whenever she was in town.  It... had simply been a long while.

Sighing deeply, Rei wrapped her arms around the younger woman.  Miku leaned into the embrace, sliding her arms around Rei’s waist.

“Thank you,” Rei whispered.

“We’re here, Rei,” Miku reminded her, “It’ll be okay.”

She smiled, starting towards to her old bedroom.

“Get some good sleep, okay?”

**Author's Note:**

> One thing led to another and suddenly ghost story and the power of friendship.
> 
> ...I mean, it's Fatal Frame, I suppose that's normal around these parts. :D


End file.
